


All Will Be Well

by N7rmandy



Category: dan and phil
Genre: Angst, Dan plays the piano, End of the World, M/M, Phan - Freeform, im not a meteorologist, impossible weather events?, probably, pure unfiltered angst, this is what youtube looks like as a soap opera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-06-30 12:25:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15751629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N7rmandy/pseuds/N7rmandy
Summary: It's humanity's final days and Dan and Phil choose to spend them with each other, as well as say goodbye.





	1. The Storm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> I actually originally wrote this back when I used Wattpad but never published it so I figured 'what the heck, I'll actually post it here.' It's been written in chunks over the course of literal years (I think I started it in 2015/16) and technically isn't done yet (as of posting the first chapter) so I'm hoping if I put it online I'll be encouraged to finish it

"The final announcement has been made. Scientists have confirmed that this will be the biggest storm in human history. In 4 days-"

*Click*

Dan clicked off the television, not wanting to hear any more. For the past week or so, all over the media words were being tossed around such as _'extinction event'_ and _'apocalypse.'_ At first everyone thought it was some kind of prank, until every major news station in the world was saying the same thing; "storm."

Dan looked over at Phil sitting next to him on the sofa, who was staring blankly at the television. The rain could be heard outside, pattering away at the windows. It had been raining for a few days straight. That wouldn't be anything abnormal as far as London's usual weather, except it wasn't going to stop this time.

Phil's expression looked like he'd just seen someone kick a puppy. Dan looked like he could start crying at any moment. Phil moved over to sit closer to Dan. "We can't act surprised. It's not like this is new information." he whispered, more to himself than to Dan.

Dan stood up and all but sprinted to the window, yanking the blinds shut. "I'm tired of the rain. We should move somewhere else, somewhere..." he mumbled, more to himself than to Phil.

"You can't just pretend like this isn't happening Dan! That's not how this works." Phil's voice was quiet, but still intense. Neither of them had the emotional strength to shout at this point.

"Well why not?!" Dan said, crossing his arms. "If we're all going to die, why spend our last days wallowing in misery?" 

Phil sat up straighter, his voice shaky, "You don't know that we're all going to die! The government, m-maybe they're doing something-"

"This isn't like the movies Phil! The government isn't doing shit! There's no _'big plan'_ to save humanity. We're not all going to hop onto a submarine and sail away!" Dan's hands flew about while he spoke. Finally, he let out a shaky sigh and sat back down.

Phil put an arm around Dan's shoulder comfortingly. "We shouldn't spend our time fighting," he said. Dan found it hard to stay mad at Phil, especially on mornings like this when he was wearing his brightest pajamas and his hair was still a mess from waking up. Dan had his face buried in his hands as he leaned into Phil's embrace, any anger left in him immediately disappearing.

"This wasn't supposed to happen, Phil. We were supposed to get up this morning, turn on the tv and listen to some guy in a lab coat tell us everything would be okay. That they had made a mistake and the storm wouldn't be that bad. That we'd live..." Dan's voice faltered at the end of his sentence and he had to stop talking to prevent the tears forming in his eyes from falling.

Seeing his best friend like this, Phil wasn't much better off. He watched as a couple drops landed on the lens of his glasses. Funny, he decided to actually wear them today. If he looked up at the window, he could almost mistake the drops for the raindrops that had settled on the glass outside. For a few minutes, they each stayed like this, refusing to speak in case it would set one of them off.

Dan finally broke the silence, "What do we do now?" 

Phil sat back so he could look his friend in the eyes. "I say we do anything we want. Just like in the movies." 

Phil smiled just a bit and Dan chuckled, "I don't think we can just go outside and start robbing shops, Phil. Everything is halfway underwater by now."

Phil shoved Dan away playfully, "That's not what I meant!" For a moment, the two looked like their normal selves again; smiling and laughing at each other. That moment was cut short, however, when they both remembered the seriousness of their current circumstances.

That's how it was when tragedies happened. People had a collective understanding of how they were supposed to feel and act. You didn't smile too much or laugh too long. You didn't do anything that would let you forget about the bad things going on around you. It's like you would be lying to yourself.

Phil sat up straight and Dan followed suit. "Dan, I think we should film a video," he said sincerely. "We should say our goodbyes to everyone. Our channels are such big parts of our lives it just... it feels wrong to just leave them like this. They need closure. An ending."

Dan stared at his friend with confusion for a moment, not saying a word. He shook his head, smiling slightly as leaned back into the sofa.

"I'm serious, Dan!" Phil said, sounding slightly offended. "Let's go film right now. Like, right now."

Dan's face scrunched up and his smile subsided somewhat when he realized that Phil wasn't kidding. "Phil," he said, running a hand through his hair. "No one's going to see the video. Everyone is likely out with family and friends and the people they love. They're not going to be checking for new videos."

Phil, still set on the idea, reached for his laptop which was balanced precariously on the arm of the sofa. "It doesn't really matter if the fans see it or not. I think it's just something we ought to do for ourselves. No professional recording or editing or anything, we'll just use the laptop. We'll put it on the gaming channel. It feels wrong to put it on just one of our main channels. Please, Dan."

Dan shrugged and moved closer to Phil so they were both visible to the camera. They were both still in pajamas and looked like they hadn't slept in days (which they really hadn't much.) Dan was sporting his morning 'Hobbit hair.' Phil took Dan's hand and squeezed it gently. "You ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," Dan replied, keeping a firm hold on Phil's hand. They kept their hand-holding out of view of the camera, although at this point it was more out of habit than anything else. Who honestly cared if they were together or not? Everyone already thought they were anyway. And who's to label exactly what _together_ even meant? It could mean anything. And for Dan and Phil, it simply meant being with the one person who meant more than anyone else in the world.

Normally they'd have an introduction at the start of any of their videos, even just a quick 'Hi guys!' to start things off, but neither of them felt it was entirely appropriate all things considered.

For a few seconds, neither of them could think of anything to say. They alternated between glancing at the camera and at each other before Phil finally broke the silence.

"So given the current state of things, well, everywhere, we thought it might be a good idea to film one last video. Well maybe not a good idea per say, but a necessary one."

As Phil spoke, Dan couldn't keep his eyes on the computer. All he could do was gaze at Phil, memorizing every feature of his face, while he rambled on about why they were filming this video and how much they loved all their fans. It's not that it wasn't true, but it was the usual goodbye spiel. It's what people expected to hear.

Phil was starting to stumble over his words as he struggled to voice what he was feeling. Dan took the chance to intervene and tear his gaze away from a now dispirited Phil.

"You guys mean so much to us," Dan said sincerely. "This whole community we've created- it means so much. We've gotten to do so many amazing things. We've met amazing people and been to amazing places."

Phil was now leaning his head on Dan's shoulder, focusing on every word while watching the screen. There was no space between the two of them, unlike their previous videos. This is how they truly were around each other. If this was to be their last video, then it should be completely honest.

"I probably wouldn't have said this when I was younger but," Dan continued, glancing down at Phil. "This life has definitely been a good one. And in the grand scheme of things we may not be much," Dan paused, his expression shifting to something more solemn. Phil sat up and held tighter to Dan's hand, worried at his sudden change of mood.

Dan saw Phil's concerned expression and gave him a reassuring smile before continuing. "But really, neither does anything else. We shouldn't worry so much about the rest of the world. I've spent too much of my life doing that. Instead, we should focus on those around us. For these last four days, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Dan met Phil's gaze and all he could think was how important Phil was to him. Dan couldn't even begin to imagine what his life would've been if he hadn't met Phil, and he knew Phil was thinking the same.

Not even bothering to look back at the camera, Dan finished his thought, "I'm going to focus on the single most important person in my life."

Without any warning or hesitation, Phil pulled Dan into a hug and held on like his life depended on it. They stayed like this for what felt like an eternity, but was barely a minute. Neither wanted to let go, but they knew they needed to finish the video.

"So this is it," Phil said.

"This is the end of Dan and Phil."


	2. Day 1: Inevitability

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic actually has a whole playlist that goes with it but the songs are in a specific order based on the story so it'll probably be at the very end

Phil woke up to find Dan missing from their bedroom. Normally, they made sure to get up at the same time so they could eat breakfast and watch television together.

With such little time left, neither of them wanted to waste it by sleeping. But after they filmed the video the day before, they agreed it would be best to get at least a couple hours of rest.

Phil wandered the halls of the apartment looking for Dan. He wasn't in the kitchen making breakfast, he wasn't on the sofa watching the news, and he wasn't in the office. He stopped though, when he heard the quiet sound of the piano.

Phil followed the sound to Dan's old room where Dan was absentmindedly tapping the keys of the piano to no particular tune. He stepped quietly into the room, so as not to interrupt. Even when he wasn't playing anything in particular, Phil always loved to hear Dan play the piano. He always thought it sounded beautiful and watching Dan play made the whole world slow down, if even just for a minute. It was one of those special rare occasions.

Dan turned his head slightly to acknowledge Phil entering the room but didn't say anything or stop playing. In fact, he suddenly remembered a song and quickly found himself settling into the rhythm of it.

Phil listened contentedly as Dan began humming along to the song. Even without hearing them, Phil knew the words by heart.

_Now the night is coming to an end. The sun will rise and we will try again._

The song was slow, and there was something calming and tranquil about the way Dan's hands danced across the keys, slowly but with fervency.

_I will fear the night again. I hope I'm not my only friend._

It was a short and by no means cheerful song. Dan wasn't smiling as he played. In fact, his expression seemed conflicted. Phil had only ever seen Dan happy when he was playing music, although he'd never heard him play this song. He wondered when Dan had bothered to learn it.

_Stay alive, stay alive for me. You will die, but now your life is free. Take pride in what is sure to die._

As he finished the last few notes, Dan turned his head to look back at Phil. "Sorry I got up early. I didn't want to wake you." he said, his head hung low.

"It's okay," Phil replied, "How long have you been in here?" 

Dan shrugged, "Not long. I'm not even sure why I came in here in the first place. By the way, did the video upload?"

Phil walked over to stand by the piano. "Yeah it uploaded. I haven't looked at comments or anything, but I imagine there's not many."

Dan stood up from his seat and walked over to the window to peer through the blinds. The rain was coming down heavily, as to be expected. Luckily, the clouds were still thin enough to let a decent amount of light through, so you could actually tell it was daytime. It still looked like an ordinary London day until you looked down at the flooded streets. The water level couldn't be much higher than Dan's knees at this point, but it looked like a swirling rapid.

He decided he'd seen enough and turned back to Phil. "I think I ought to call my family while the phones still work. In all the chaos the past couple days, it got sort of overlooked."

Phil could tell he felt bad by the way he spoke, but he didn't blame Dan for not calling his family. He'd also forgotten about it, what with the video yesterday and all the confusion in the news during the days before that. "Good idea," he agreed. "I'll probably try to Skype my family while there's still Internet. That will probably be down within the next day or two along with the phones."

For the first time in awhile, Dan and Phil separated and found themselves on opposite sides of the apartment so they could call their families without disturbing the other. Phil, sitting in the kitchen, started up his laptop and opened Skype. After only a few seconds of ringing, he was met face-to-face with his mother.

Her eyes were red and her face puffy from crying. "Hi Mum," Phil said with a smile and a small wave in an attempt to cheer her up, even just a little. No one should ever have to see their mother cry, but under the circumstances it seemed almost inappropriate not to.

Seeing her son, who she hadn't seen in quite some time, set off another bout of sobbing. Phil tried to calm his crying mother with encouraging words but that only seemed to make things worse.

When she finally settled down somewhat, Phil was able to actually hold a conversation with her. "I wish you could come home Phil. Most of the family made it here before the storm got too bad but..." Her sentence was broken by another fit of sobbing. "All I can think of is how we probably won't get to see you again." This seemed to break through the dam keeping her tears somewhat in check. "Oh Phillip," she said between sobs, choking on her words "I'd swim to you if I could."

Phil couldn't stand seeing his mother like this. He'd rather have her just be happy she can see him through the computer, instead of thinking about how he's not there in person.

"Don't cry, Mum." he said, trying to maintain his own composure. "Don't cry, please just-, I'm right here Mum, I'm not going anywhere." She began to settle a little bit, but only enough that she could actually speak to her son. "Remember we all love you Phillip. I'm so proud of everything you've done." It was a few moments before Phil could reply, "I love you too Mum. And tell everyone else I love them too. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there."

At this point, Phil's mother interrupted, "Don't you be sorry Phil, don't you ever be. It's not your fault you couldn't be here." 

Phil smiled again, and his mother smiled in return, all too thankful to see her son's smile in some of their last moments talking to each other. "I know, Mum, I know. You're always right, of course." He chuckled softly, "I promise I'll call again if the Internet holds up. I love-"

The smiling image of his mother froze before the Skype call disconnected as the lights in the room flickered and went out. Phil looked over at his alarm clock and saw that it had also gone out. He sat in the darkness with only the dim light of his laptop screen.

As Phil registered the power outage in his mind, he quickly walked out of the room to find Dan. The two nearly ran into each other as Dan rounded a corner and wound up face-to-face with Phil. He'd actually been so caught off guard that he nearly fell backwards and Phil had to grab onto Dan's arms to steady him.

"The power's out," Phil said, adjusting his glasses which had nearly fallen off in the incident. 

"Yeah, I noticed." Dan said, still holding onto Phil's forearms. "Did you get to say goodbye to your family?" he asked. It was only now that Phil noticed that Dan's eyes were red and puffy. It was hard to distinguish from the dark circles beneath his eyes. Phil had no doubt that his own eyes looked the same.

"Yeah pretty much." Phil replied. "At least as much as you can say goodbye. I never imagined I'd have to say to goodbye to my mum like this. Did you get to say goodbye to your family before the power went out?" Dan sighed before replying, "Yeah about as much as I could. I'm guessing just about everyone is going through the same goodbye speech with their own families."

Only now did the two separate their hands from each other's, but made no moves to step apart. "Wonder if the power will come back on at all..." Dan trailed off, not really asking a question. "Maybe we should look and see if other buildings are having the same problem."

Before the two could make a decision, the lights came back on. They'd only been off for maybe five minutes. Phil sighed, going to check the internet router, "I think we'd better get used to this. The blackouts are only going to get longer from here on out." Dan followed close behind, "Until they never stop, that is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I used tabinof as reference for the apartment layout if that tells you how old this is


	3. Day 2: The Waiting Game

The update on the storm came in the form of an automated emergency broadcast told by a droning prerecorded voice. It's not like any of the newscasters could be bothered to show up to work when the world was ending. White letters played over a harsh red background, flooding the room in an artificial red glow.

"At this point in the storm's progression, countries in the Western Hemisphere have taken the most damage. Many cities on the West Coast of the United States had people evacuated further east in hopes that the storm would lessen as it moved across the land, but to no avail. Coastlines in North and South America have risen drastically and with no sign of slowing, the center of the storm is expected to continue its path eastward. We are unable to confirm any numbers at this point, but the casualties so far are expected to be..."

Phil slowly tuned out the words from the television until they sounded like nothing but mindless static in the background. He sat in a chair facing the window with his knees pulled up to his chest. Still wearing his pajamas from the previous day, Phil stared blankly out at the flooded streets below, watching various bits of debris get carried away with the speeding current. He saw a shopping trolley float past and all he could think was how far away the nearest shop was. Maybe it belonged to a homeless or poor person. Phil didn't want to think about where that person probably is right now.

Frustrated grumbling from Dan tore Phil away from his bleak train of thought. Dan was shaking the television remote and smacking it on the back of the sofa repeatedly while muttering strings of curses. The TV was still repeating the emergency broadcast on loop.

"Ugh, damn batteries. Why won't you work!?" Dan was switching between smacking the remote and pressing the power button repeatedly, before switching back again. The recording on the television started over again and it seemed to be a last straw for Dan, who then tossed the remote halfheartedly onto the floor. "Fuck it..." he sighed, holding his hands up in defeat before placing them on the back of his head in a relaxed stance and beginning to pace around the room.

"You know, yelling won't make it shut off. Just walk over to the television, Dan." Phil grumbled just loud enough for Dan to hear. Watching Dan struggle like this could've been amusing, if it wasn't for the sounds of the emergency broadcast in the background creating a tense atmosphere. The slow, drawn-out beeping of the broadcasts always created a feeling of anxiety, or so Phil believed.

Dan stormed over to the television and reached behind it to unplug it from the wall. As the screen went dark, the red glow disappeared and the room was plunged into a sort of twilight with no lights on and only the faintest sunlight filtering through the clouds and in the windows. It was the kind of light that made everything grey and difficult to distinguish other than vague shapes.

Phil shifted in his seat before resting his head on his hands to look towards Dan, "That's not quite what I meant but okay. I kind of figured you would just press the power button." Dan just slumped onto the sofa and clumsily lobbed a pillow at Phil in response. Phil, with all his athletic prowess, attempted to deflect it and succeeded not only in missing the pillow entirely, but also knocking his glasses off his face, earning a small chuckle from Dan.

Reaching to pick up his glasses, Phil then held them up to the light of the window to inspect them for damage. While there were no scratches or smudges to be found, he was briefly confused by a few drops of water on the lenses. He hadn't noticed them right away because they had lined up perfectly with the raindrops on the window. He wondered if there was possibly a leak in the ceiling, until he noticed the drops were actually on the inside of his lenses. He must have been crying, he reasoned, and hadn't even noticed. Without too much thought on it, Phil just wiped off his glasses lenses on the hem of his shirt before putting them back on.

"I'm surprised you're still wearing your glasses," Dan said with half a smile. "They've always looked good on you. I can't pull off glasses." 

With that, Phil smiled before standing up and moving to sit next to Dan. With more energy than he'd shown all day, Phil playfully ruffled Dan's hair. "Yeah, well I'm surprised you ever straighten your hair. The 'hobbit-hair' works for you." Dan swatted Phil's hand away and moved to sit closer to Phil. After a few more seconds of laughter, the two both sighed and just decided to relax for a moment. For a few minutes, the patter of the rain on the windows was a relaxing melody rather than a dreadful reminder. Phil leaned back into the cushions as if to take a nap and Dan rested his head on Phil's shoulder. The two just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company without a word. It seemed the only things they'd talked about lately had to do with their impending demise. Understandably, that becomes a dreary and tiring subject rather quickly. For a few moments at least, the two felt at peace, separated from the world around them.

A sudden, harsh knock at the door quickly ripped the two from their moment of tranquility. Dan sighed and stood up, leaving Phil feeling cold with the absence of Dan's body heat. He attempted to close his eyes and regain that feeling of bliss but it just wasn't the same without Dan next to him. Not to mention he was distracted by the sounds of a quiet conversation going on by the door. Only being able to hear a few words out of the conversation, Phil's frustration and curiosity led him to go investigate.

A middle-aged women stood outside the door talking to Dan. She looked weary and tired, with bags under her eyes and all energy missing from her voice as she spoke.

"Please, the halls are filled with people from the lower floors. Anything you have would help." The woman said, looking up at Dan with a pleading expression. Her eyes were brought to Phil, however, when he approached. "What's going on?" he asked.

Dan rubbed his eyes and placed two fingers on the bridge of his nose before responding, "They're asking for food and bottled water for the people that came up from the lower floors. Sounds like the water's gotten too high for them to stay down there." Phil looked down at the woman in front of him and was suddenly hit by an intense feeling of guilt. He and Dan were still up here lounging in the safety of their apartment while others were driven from theirs and left stranded. They'd been completely oblivious to the struggles of their neighbors.

"Yeah we've got more than enough food to get ourselves through another couple days. You can take whatever you need." Phil was determined to help in whatever small way he could. Dan nodded in agreement and started to lead the woman to the kitchen to find food. She looked from Dan to Phil with watery eyes, 

"Oh thank you Dan and... Phil, is it?" Phil nodded and was struck with another wave of guilt. This woman was obviously one of their neighbors but Phil couldn't think of her name to save his life. She only looked vaguely familiar, a passing face in the halls, yet she cared enough to remember their names and Phil couldn't give her the same courtesy.

As they started rifling through cupboards looking for food that could be used, the woman began talking about the refugees from the lower floors. "There's not too many of them thankfully. But there's a number of children. Most of them don't seem to understand what's going on. Maybe it's better that way." As Dan placed food items on the counter, Phil began putting them in plastic bags. 

"Where are they all staying?" he asked, "Do they need places to sleep?" As much as both Dan and Phil would prefer to keep their home to themselves, both would openly welcome their neighbors to stay due to the circumstances. It would be cruel to do otherwise.

The woman started to pick up as many bags as she could carry before replying, "I think we've got room in the rest of our apartments for right now. We'll let you two know if we need more space. But this food helps us so much you know, so thank you. Many of them still hold onto hope that we'll make it through all this." Dan got out the last of the spare groceries and placed them in more plastic bags. 

"And what about you?" he asked. "Do you have hope still?" She looked at him with a faint sort of smile. 

"I always have hope. It's gotten me through the rest of my life up to this point."

No one spoke after that. They all made their way through the halls with their sacks of groceries distributing the extra food to those who needed it. Between the three of them, they were able to carry all the bags in one trip. When the last of the food was given away, the woman thanked both Dan and Phil for their help and solemnly returned to her own apartment.

During the walk back, a tense silence hung between Dan and Phil. Dan had his hands in his pockets and his head hung low, his gaze on his feet. "What about you then?" Phil asked, attempting to break the feeling in the air around them. Dan looked at him with a confused expression.

"You've lost hope haven't you?" Phil elaborated. "I can tell. There's no way I couldn't tell with you." 

Dan just shook his head as the two approached the door of their apartment. "I don't really know what there is to hope for, I guess. Are you saying you still think we'll live through this?" Phil nearly reached for his keys before realizing they hadn't locked the door. Why bother anymore? Opening the door, he quickly made his way back to the sofa. Phil wanted nothing more than to return to the moment of peace they'd had before. All he wanted was a way to ignore the world around him.

Falling gracelessly back onto the sofa, Phil replied, "I wouldn't say I'm expecting us to live. I'd just say that I'm not _not_ expecting us to live, you know?" 

Dan shook his head before having a seat next to Phil once again. "Phillip Lester, you are a mystery sometimes, you know that?"

Leaning on each other and simply listening to the patter of the rain, the two tried to return to the same sense of peace they'd felt earlier, but now it just wasn't the same. The overwhelming thought of the future hung in the air like a bomb waiting to drop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you squint real hard you can just make out a reference to a certain John Knowles novel in here


End file.
